A college classmate of David Boies III remembers what a political science professor once said about the young Boies: “Watch that guy. Someday he’ll be dangerous.”

Today, that classmate, William Isaacson, is a partner at the law firm of Boies’ father — Boies, Schiller & Flexner. And David Boies III, 46, is a name partner at his own firm, Straus & Boies.